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Audacious August Author!

Hey everyone!
  Now that July Writing Craze is over and I had so much fun with it, I would like to introduce a new August journey that I have decided to take on.  You can find the blog on my profile page, Audacious August Author.  Please join me on this new weekly journey.
ABC 123,
               Maddie

July Writing Craze: Day 31!!

LAST DAY!!! Whaaat??? This is crazy!!! Enjoy today's last installment and please read my little note at the end! Happy reading!!

Epilogue

Where There is an End There is a Beginning

            The hum of murmuring students, clanking plastic plates, and the crease of books opening and closing surrounded Yori as she sat at a booth in the back of the college grounds cafe, alone.  Textbooks were scattered around Yori’s pink-cased laptop, notes spilled onto the floor, and all her pencils were tucked underneath her plastic plate of a half uneaten muffin.

            Rocking out to her favorite song with her ear buds poking out of her three time pierced ears, Yori flipped through her books.  Yori had her last final that day, but she wasn’t worried.  It was her favorite course, Foreign Design.  Besides, who could be more ready when Yori was dressed in clothing that she had bought directly from foreign places?  Her purple tunic was from Italy, her faux-fur shrug was from France, and her bejeweled jeans were from Hawaii—so that one wasn’t exactly foreign, but it wasn’t from Idaho or Cali.  Yori had also spent extra time on her hair that morning because she was demonstrating to her roommate how to do the triple twist braid and pull-back.  Yori had even lent her roommate one of her blue floral hair clips to hold up the braid.

            “Yori!  Ugh…you would not believe the mess that last final was for me!  Finally this killer third year is over for me,”  Velvet exclaimed, sliding into the seat opposite of Yori.  Looking up, Yori smiled and pulled her ear buds out, shoving her things to her side of the table.

            “I told you to go to the library last night instead of call Brody!”  Yori scolded, slamming her text book closed and saving her document on her computer.

            “I know…well, at least I’m all done.  Your last one is this afternoon, right?”  Velvet responded, setting down her black purse with silver, dangling tassels beside her.

            “Yeah, but I’ll do great,”  Yori said, confident she would.

            “Okay, then…tell me everything about the dress I’m wearing,”  Velvet quizzed Yori, standing up to show off her spring dress.

            “Well, it’s 93% cotton, and I’m going to say…7%....polyester.  The weave at the bottom is threaded with silk and bound with elastic.  It is Vietnamese styled, you can tell by the straps, and the red floral print could be described as mini.”

            “Anything else?”  Velvet asked, twirling around in it.

            “You look pretty in it?”  Yori tried.

            “You passed!”  Velvet replied and sat back down.

            “Hey, did you get that email from Jane?  About the Camp Sing-Song alumni party in  August?”  Yori asked, offering the last portion of her muffin to Velvet.  Shaking her head at the muffin, Velvet nodded her head about the alumni reunion party.

            “I did get the email.  If only Jane could’ve been the director years ago!  I hear they have some sort of battle every Wednesday and Friday.  Like last summer, I heard they had an official water balloon fight, an honorary food fight, a Revolutionary War reenactment battle, and paint ball crusade.  I wish we could be counselors this summer,”  Velvet shared.

            “I know, right?  I heard they actually had to close enrollment early for this coming summer because the camp filled up so fast once everyone heard about how great last summer was,”  Yori added.

            “I can’t believe it’s been three years since I’ve last seen Jane,”  Velvet thought aloud.  “You’re going to the alumni party though, right?”

            “I’m still thinking about it,”  Yori replied.

            “What?  You have to go!”

            “I know, but I leave the next day for Milan,”  Yori said.

            “Milan?”

            “I got chosen for the Fashion and Design Abroad course.  Next year, I’ll be at the fashion capital of the world,”  Yori remarked, beaming.

            “Really?!  No way!  That’s great, Yori!  Have you been before?”

            “Milan?  Nope, this will be my first time.”

            “Did you pass your Italian Language course?”

            “I’ll find out soon.  I hope I won’t blank out on all I’ve learned these past years…here, your clip is falling out,”  Yori replied, leaning over the table to adjust Velvet’s slipping blue clip.

            “Don’t mess up my double twist.”

            “It’s a triple twist, and I won’t,”  Yori replied, laughing.  “Are you and Brody going together to the party?”

            “I think so, but I’ll be sick with anticipation,”  Velvet responded.  Yori sat back in her seat after fixing Velvet’s hair.

            “Meaning?”

            “I’ll have sent out my Peace Corps application that day,”  Velvet replied.

            “Peace Corps?  But you still have one more year of college, well two since you need more for your education course,”  Yori commented.

            “I know…I applied early.  It says apply 9 to 12 months before you are ready to start your service, but I thought I would apply even earlier than that, so if I got rejected I could reapply with better qualifications and still have time to be accepted by the time I finished college.”

            “That’s pretty smart.  I’m sure you’ll get in though!  How many languages are you fluent in, again?”  Yori asked.

            “Four, not counting English—Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese,”  Velvet commented, smiling at her accomplishments.

            “That’s amazing…how are you and Brody doing by the way?”

            “Great!  He has seventeen more hours of firefighter training to do and then he’ll be a certified fireman.”

            “That’s pretty cool, but I always thought Brody would do something like the Peace Corps, though,”  Yori commented.

            “Oh, he applied.  He’ll probably serve earlier than me, but we might meet up in the Peace Corps sometime depending on how long he stays in the Peace Corps,”  Velvet answered.

            “Of course, you both applied,”  Yori laughed.  “Wouldn’t it be so romantic if you got married in, like, Kenya or something?”

            “That would be so romantic…” Velvet trailed off, a drunk smile fulfilling her face.

            “Oh, shoot!”  Yori exclaimed, looking at her cell phone.  “I got to go.”  Snapping out of her reverie, Velvet asked, “Where are you going?”

            As Yori cleaned up her mess of books and papers, she replied, “I have my Charity from one Army Family to Another meeting that I need to lead before my last final.  Then I’m gonna doll up and meet Matt for dinner.  Did I tell you he’s going to intern at NASA this summer?”

            “Is he?  That’s pretty good!  Is he already done with his third year at Johns Hopkins?”  Velvet asked, handing Yori her hidden pencils.

            “Yeah, he got done really early…or are we getting done late…I’m not sure, but he’s coming to San Diego and when I’m done with school, we’re heading back to Idaho and then we’ll hopefully go to the alumni party together.”

            “Fun!  Hey, why don’t I get a movie and some theater popcorn and we can celebrate finishing finals in our dorm tonight?”  Velvet suggested, grabbing her purse and putting Yori’s laptop in Yori’s armful of supplies.

            “Sounds perfect.  See you around ten,”  Yori replied and headed out the café door.

            “Good luck on your final!”  Velvet called.

            “Luck?”  Yori asked at the doorway of the café, a smile dripping from her face.  “I told you, I don’t need it.”

THE END

That's it!  It's all done!  Wow!! Is that crazy or what?

Well...that's 13 chapters (plus the epilogue), 41265 words, and 93 pages of July Writing right there! :)  I need to thank each and every one of you who read, commented, and supported me.  Writing can be very solitary and sometimes a lonely deed and it was very nice having a little audience and rooting section.  It made it so much more fun!  Thank you and I hope you liked the story.  I definitely have things I would like to change about the story, things I would like to add, things I would like to delete, edits to make, and a title to think of, but overall I am very happy with the way things turned out.  I liked the motivation to write and how the story developed and evolved.

And finally, I dedicate this book to all of you!  Thank you and maybe we'll see each other again tomorrow, in August!

And lastly, remember guys:  No matter what your end, beginning, or in between middle is, it is good!  If you can get words on paper (or on a word document) at all, you are brave and already making progress.  Don't be afraid to get started because mistakes will be made, but it isn't like you haven't made them before.  Give it a try and love it!

ABC 123,

                Maddie

July Writing Craze: Day 30!!

Second to last day!  I will miss everyone, should I do something for August?

Chapter Thirteen:  Matt

Over Too Soon

The sunlight usually nagged at Matt like a wife to a husband, but not that day.  There was too much he needed to do.  Matt stretched, ruffling his hair that seemed to be dented by the last night’s sleep.  Matt checked past the blue curtain that separated his and his camper’s bedrooms to see if they were all still sleeping.  When he saw they were still dreaming, Matt went back into his room and took the sheet off his bed.  He draped it and tied it around his neck and stood atop his bed.

            “Yori,”  Matt whispered to the air that swirled in front of him.  He shot one arm out, Superman style, and continued,  “Don’t worry!  I’ll keep Katie busy, so you can create the best havoc you can make….which I know will be awesome!  Awesome? …No, great!  I know it will be great…that doesn’t sound right…splendid?  Resplendent, that’s way too big for her…”

            “Matt?”  Salvo, one of Matt’s campers, asked from the doorway, rubbing his eyes.  Matt scrambled off the bed and yanked the sheet from around his neck.  Hurling the sheet across the room, Matt tried to act as calm as he could.

            “Don’t worry, Matt…we all see you talk to no one every morning.  Good thing we didn’t put in that recording device on the robot before, huh?”  Salvo teased, his black spiky hair ridiculing Matt.

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about,”  Matt said, sticking his head up in the air, feeling his brain cells die with the force.

            “Dude,”  Salvo replied flatly.  “Shouldn’t you be actually talking to your girlfriend instead of pretending to be a superhero?”

            “She isn’t my girlfriend, yet,”  Matt corrected, picking up his sheet and tossing it onto his bed.

            “C’mon, that Silk girl—“

            “Velvet.”

            “Velvet, whatever!  Velvet told you that Yori liked you.  You like her, she likes you, I don’t see the confusion,”  Salvo pressed.

            “It’s more complex than you think, little buddy.  She hasn’t said anything to me yet, which doesn’t technically mean she wants to be my girlfriend.  She might want to wait,”  Matt explained.  Salvo shrugged and breathed a I-give-up sigh.

            “Well, I guess everything changes after fourth grade.”

            “C’mon, let’s get ready,”  Matt laughed and patted Salvo on the shoulder.

Havoc was in full swing by the time Matt and his campers had gotten down to the main field.  But not only did it look like a twisted circus, it looked slightly more refined.  An arc of white and silver balloons shaded the main office entrance, bouquets of roses (some of the vases already knocked over and split into a million pieces) cornered the docks and main field, and the pavement Matt and his campers had just walked on felt smoother.

            “Wow!”  Timmy exclaimed, taking in the whole field.

            “I hope we can have a havoc day next year!”  Salvo cried, his missing toothed smile grinning.  Matt couldn’t wait to see the look on Yori’s face when she saw how happening things were.  A counselor walked by on a pair of pink stilts, dressed in a full joker costume.  He had the words Bloody Hell fake-tattooed on his arm.

            “I didn’t know we had stilts had camp,”  another camper of Matt’s, Jim, pondered out loud.

            “Neither did I…”  Matt mused, scratching his mop.

            “Matt!”  Yori came jogging over to Matt from the center of the main field.  She was beaming a radiant smile.  She could have been an ultraviolet ray, she was smiling so happily.

            “Hi Yori,”  Matt replied.  She looked so pretty.  She had a sweater on over a shirt and she also was wearing jeans.  She had on shoes, too.  Man, she looked pretty.

            “Look at this!  Isn’t it great?”  Yori said, gesturing to the huge amount of chaos.

            “What?”  Matt asked.  He couldn’t hear what she had said.  A camper with a boom box had just passed by while riding on a skateboard with skull stickers taped to the top and under.

            “Doesn’t it look great?!”  Yori repeated into Matt’s ear.  Matt could smell Yori’s perfume.  It smelled like the shore of an ocean without the seaweed and salt.  Matt sometimes visited the beach when his sinuses got clogged.

            “Ask her out,”  Salvo urged, punching Matt in the leg.  Matt could feel his face turn red and so he gave Salvo a harsh nugie.

            “Why don’t you and the others go…to that cotton candy machine?”  Matt hissed, glaring him down.  Salvo laughed and rounded up the other campers.

            “Matt’s gonna ask Yori out!”  Salvo cried, starting to run away.

            “Go get her, superhero!”  Jim yelled and the four campers raced away before Matt could beat them down.

            “They’re cute,”  Yori commented, smiling.  She looked so natural and calm.  She must be asked out a lot.  The thought of that made Matt freeze up.  Was he just another guy?  Would Yori say no because he was just another one?  Matt didn’t want to be lost in the crowd of Yori’s other boyfriends.  Matt wanted to stand out to Yori.

            “So, Matt…” Yori remarked, rocking back and forth on her heels.

            “Where’s Velvet?”  Matt blurted, avoiding the conversation he knew he was doomed to have.  It wasn’t that he wasn’t in love with Yori—he was—he just wanted the moment to ask her out to be a really good one, different from anyone else’s.

            “Velvet?”  Yori asked, surprised.  Her two eyebrows were raised and she looked startled.  “Velvet and Brody are pretending to say good-bye and Jan is telling Katie she’ll take care of Velvet and me.  We’ll be gone, as far at Katie is concerned, as long as me and Velvet stay out of Katie’s sight.”

            “Oh, so you already figured out a plan to ensure Katie doesn’t actually make you and Velvet leave?”  Matt asked.

            “That’s what I said,”  Yori chimed.  Disappointed, Matt tried to smile.  He wanted to be the hero who saved the day.  The awkward silence Matt felt when he went to Astronomy club and someone made the mistake of saying auroras were caused by comets, fell between him and Yori.  Wanting it to end, Matt searched his brain for something to say.  Matt struggled.  He could always think of something when the teacher asked for the reason the Sun was hot, or when he had to spell circumbilivagination. 

            “Did you get those stilts?”  Matt finally found something to say, glad to hear the silence filled.

            “Yeah, I got everything here, most of it at least.  That’s why I didn’t come down yesterday, pretty much at all.  I was finding cool things to order and when I found some spot-on stuff, I overnight ordered them.  They all arrived this morning at five o’clock.  I snuck into the office and picked up the boxes.  I spent all this morning, unwrapping and putting parts together with an installment crew.  I actually had to read some manuals, ugh!  I scattered the things around the main field and went into all the girls cabin, waking everyone up to get the havoc started.  Do you like it?”

            “I love it!  You’re pretty dedicated to your mayhem,”  Matt replied, laughing.

            “Looks like it, huh?  Want to ride the zip line?”

            “Zip line?”  Matt repeated.  Where did she even install the zip line?

            “It goes over the lake!  Let’s go!”  Yori exclaimed and ran towards the woods by the lake.

Three zip line rides, two cotton candies, one life-sized chocolate bunny eating contest, one trapeze lesson, and three rides on the mini Tilt-A-Whirl later, Matt and Yori took a rest by the pig racing event center.

            “This is really fun!”  Matt remarked, having to yell a little over the enthusiastic crowd.

            “Did the ref check that one?  C’mon!  That was totally the Winnie Piglet!!”  one counselor hollered from somewhere in the depths of the crowd.

            “Hey!  The press is here!”  another yelled.  Dozens of teens and kids rushed to the magazine reviewers, wanting to add in their two cents.  A camera crew, a few anchor-dressed people, and a few reserved interviews and journalists trailed in after the big shots with the massive cameras and flashy lights.

            “I hope Martin comes soon before the chaos dies down,”  Yori said, worried.

            “He’ll come, don’t worry,”  Matt reassured Yori, hoping he wasn’t wrong.

            “Hey guys!  Did you see the press is here?”  Velvet asked, coming up to Matt and Yori, Brody following behind her.

            “Yeah, does Katie think we’re gone?”  Yori questioned, grinning at Velvet who looked confident.

            “Yup!  As Brody and I were leaving the office to come back down here, we heard Jane telling her she’d handle us.  Katie seemed satisfied that Jane would take care of it.”

            “Does Katie know Martin is coming?”  Matt asked.

            “Nope!  Speaking of which, where is he?”  Velvet replied, turning her head to see if she could see the ‘big boss’ coming.

            “I don’t…look!  An SUV!  That looks important!”  Velvet exclaimed, pointing to the parking lot that was filled with magazine vans and camera crew trucks.  One lonely SUV car pulled into an empty spot.  A driver hopped out and went around to the passenger side to open the door for whoever was sitting inside.  A proper foot stepped out, leading a body that was the body of Martin King.  He had Brad Pitt shades on and was wearing a suit.

            “Is that him?”  Yori asked, looking at Matt.

            “Let’s go say hi,”  Matt responded and led the group to the foot of the parking lot.

            “Thanks, Chives,”  Martin nodded to his chauffeur and straightened the cuffs of his suit.  Matt remembered the pearly white suit he wore to his eighth grade prom and chuckled to himself.  His best friend at school, Oliver, had wore a baby blue suit, too.  All the girls they had asked to dance had a convenient excuse.

            “Hi, Mr. King,”  Matt piped up, extending his hand for a shake.  Martin’s hand shake was firm.  Martin apparently took on the French custom of one up-down shake, leaving Matt stranded.

            “Hello, young man,”  Martin responded.

            “Thank you so much for coming to Camp Sing-Song, sir.  We are all really happy you decided to come.  How does the camp look to you?”  Matt said, smiling like he was proud of the “normal, every day” camp.  Martin slid his sunglasses off from his nose and scanned the main field.  Matt and the other counselors scanned with him.

            Matt was happy to see the giant Post-It note costumed camper toddling across the main field right when the larger than life gummy worm slithered on the grass.  It’s remote controller trailed behind it, mad scientist gleaming in his eyes.  A bright flash shot at the snaking gummy worm and Matt was thrilled to see the press really getting into the camp chaos.  Matt hoped Martin would see how one of his chain camps was getting some serious press.

            “It looks…crazy,”  Martin answered, his voice drawing out a little as he thought of the right word.

            “Yes, well…that’s a normal day here at Camp Sing-Song!”  Velvet piped up, perky and convincing.

            “Yes…”  Martin said, skeptical.  “Crazy, but…everyone looks like they’re having fun, so I guess that’s all that matters!”  Matt snapped his head to look at the others who had panic written all over their shocked faces.

            “It isn’t too…wild, is it, sir?”  Yori tried, tailing Mr. King as he walked towards all the activity.

            “Wild?  Camp Sing-Song is all about fun…appropriate fun that is,”  Martin replied, his rosy cheeks dancing in the afternoon light.  Hearing those words gave Matt an idea.

            “I’ll be right back.  Bring Martin down to the field soon,”  Matt whispered to Yori and hurried down to the main field.  Narrowly missing the collision of him and a girl camper on spring shoes, Matt looked to see if the lunch buffet was being set up yet.  It was just getting ready…and so was Katie, ready to throw a fit.  She looked spitting mad.  Katie, trying to advert the press’s attention as she reprimanded every passing counselor and camper, was getting powered for a on-camera interview.  A journalist tried to start the interview with Katie as a camera man adjusted his lights, and the lunch ladies asked Katie for instruction on the lunch buffet, all while a pie smashing contest was going on in the background.  Katie looked as flustered as a fish out of habitat.

            “Don’t pop those balloons!”  Katie yelled when counselors started handing out pins and playing balloon darts on the balloon arc.

            “What did you say the camp emphasis was?”  the interviewer asked, flinching when a cream pie nearly missed her left shoulder.

            “Look, the camp usually isn’t like this…”  Katie tried to explain.

            “So, there are days you just can’t keep control?”  the reviewer asked, peering at Katie with concerned and menacing eyes.

            “No!”  Katie snapped.  “I can keep control, I don’t even know where the kids got this stuff,”  Katie added.

            “You have random stored away items?  You mean you could have, say, dangerous materials in your camp and you don’t even know it?”  the interviewer egged on Katie, giving the camera a “look.”

            “I know everything that goes on in this camp!  I-I…today…listen!  This camp was supposed to be repainted, refinished, landscaped, and decorated by today, but it seems like none of that happened.  The only thing that got done was the pavement and balloon arcs!  It was supposed to be beautiful!”  Katie was snapping and loosing her cool.

            Meanwhile, Matt saw Martin slowly coming down from the parking lot with Velvet, Yori, and Brody, introducing themselves and asking him questions.  They looked anxious.  Matt also noticed Jane exit the office, look at the scene below, smile subtly, and then join the others.  The buffet was just about set up, as well.  The lunch ladies were wheeling their carts back to the office, ripping off their itchy hair nets.  Matt quickly grabbed a handful of messy nicely catered and proper spaghetti, meshed it in his hands, and waited for the perfect moment.

            “Can I get the camera on Mr. King for a second?”  Martin whispered to the camera man, the spaghetti still dripping from his hand.  The camera man swung the large camera from Katie to Martin who was coming down, allowing Katie to break for a second.  Matt smiled at Yori and launched his long-awaited spaghetti right at his target—Martin’s face.  And the camera got it all.

            “FOOD FIGHT!!!”  Matt yelled and started grabbing handfuls of the nice food, aiming at everyone in sight.  Once five people had been hit by Matt and all the counselors and campers were throwing food like there was no tomorrow, Matt took cover by the main office with Jane, Velvet, Yori, and Brody.

            “Matt!  You are so smart!”  Yori praised once they were all safe, watching the commotion like it was a riveting movie.

            “I wanted to help some how,”  Matt said, shrugging like it was no big deal.

            “Martin looks so mad.  There’s no way Katie’s safe now,”  Yori replied.  Martin did look pretty mad.  He was wiping his face, ducking mashed potatoes and spoonfuls of peas and corn.  He had that upside frown of a substitute teacher when they realize they would be teaching Algebra 1 for seniors.

            “Oh, look!  Look!  Martin’s talking to Katie,”  Brody exclaimed, pointing down at the field.  Both were standing by a tree, shielding their faces with plastic plates that had Camp Sing-Song printed on each one.

            “I ordered those plates,”  Jane chirped.

            “Did you get the pavement repaved, too?”  Matt asked.

            “Yeah…that was on Katie’s list.  But I only did half the things on Katie’s list, the least expensive ones actually.  I figured, if Katie’s gonna be leaving anyway why leave the next camp leader without any money to work with?”  Jane responded.  That was good logic.

            “Look, look,”  Velvet commentated.  “She looks so stunned.”  Martin jabbed his thumb behind him, showing Katie the get-out sign.  Then, out of nowhere, a little red robot, went traveling down the main field, ran right into Katie, and knocked her down.  Atop the robot was Carl, his hand in a salute.  He waved to Matt before he hoped off the robot and ran.

            “Thank you, guys, for helping me out with this,”  Yori said, wrapping her arms around her friends.  “Especially, you Jane.”

            “Don’t you mean Jan?”  Jane piped up, patting Yori’s hand.

            “My bad,”  Yori joked, laughing.

            “Yori!”  a little voice yelled from down at the main field.  It was Kristina.  “Do you have water balloons?  Can we have a water fight?”  Yori jumped up.

            “Water balloons?  I have something better!  C’mon you guys!”  Yori hollered and led everyone down to the field.  After balloons were hunted down, and Yori’s, Matt’s, and Brody’s campers were rounded up, Yori went to what was left of the buffet table, and started filling the blue and yellow balloons with grapes and blueberries.

            “This is my idea of a food fight—Achoo!”  Tegan cried out, barely catching her nose.  Once dozens of balloons were filled with food of all sorts that would mush and mesh when they crashed, there was no ending the food fight.  Counselors and campers came around to the table, filling their own balloons, raising the food fight to the next level.  Every time a food balloon hit, it was like an explosion.  Food would splatter and fly everywhere, the balloon pieces lost in the mess.

            “Stupid, stupid kids!”  Katie yelled when a food balloon hit her in the back.  Katie stormed up to the main office, a second food balloon hitting her heels as she walked.

The roaring camp fire danced off of the shadows on the grass by the lake as a couple of counselors sat around it, quiet and calmed.  It was night time and the hullabaloo had finished.  The main field was a mess, Martin had left without a good-bye, and all the campers were in bed.

            Yori sat alone on a wood log across from the fire, content with the day.  The owls hooted and the crickets chirped and the breeze was nice.  Matt peeked at Yori from his hiding spot behind a tree in the woods.  He was nervous but ready to make the move of his adolescent life.

            “Yori,”  Velvet called.  Yori turned around to see Brody, Jane and Velvet coming down the pavement.  Velvet had two pieces of paper and two halves of paper in her hand.

            “What’s that?”  Yori asked, pointing to the papers.  Velvet gave the halves of paper and one of the full sheets of paper to Yori.  Velvet held up her one paper and said, “Our suspension papers.”  She tossed it into the fire, letting the flames crinkle it up and turn it to ash.  Yori proudly threw hers in, too.

            Yori looked at the two halves, and before hurling them in, replied, “Forgotten memories.”

            “Hey, look,”  Velvet said quietly, nudging Brody.  Matt turned to look where the others were looking before he made his move.  Up by the main office, stood Katie, a black suitcase by her side and cardboard box of picture frames and notebooks.  With one final disgusted look, Katie whirled around and marched to her car, yanking her suitcase all the way there.      

            “Mission accomplished?”  Brody asked everyone.

            “I would say so,”  they all replied.

            “Hey, where’s Matt?”  Jane asked.

            “I don’t know…”  Yori replied.  “Around five, I lost him in the crowd and haven’t seen him since.”  This was it!  Matt climbed up the wooden platform that hid in an alcove in the middle of the front half of the lake and made sure he was all buckled in.

            “Yori!”  Matt cried out.  Then jumped.  Matt whizzed across the zip line, a robot clutched in his grip.  If the robot was functioning properly, it would shoot fireworks that said “Date Me?”  The campers and him had been working on it for a while.  It would normally have said “Got Boogers?” but Matt had stayed in his cabin that evening, programming it to say something specific to Yori.

            Landing softly on the dock, the zip line pulling back a little, Matt set down his robot and waved to Yori.  Before he knew it, Yori, Velvet, Brody, and Jane were all rushing towards Matt, smiling and laughing.

            “Of course!”  Yori yelled and hugged Matt, pushing him over, right into the lake with a huge splash!  However, Matt was still on the zip line, so after he fell into the lake, he was pulled right back up, hovering over the lake and dripping wet.  Yori, Velvet, Brody, and Jane jumped into the lake, laughing.

            And freeze frame.

            Four posed jumpers and one goofily hanging over the lake.

            Perfect. 

All right!  I hope you liked it!

And remember guys:  HAVE FUN WHEN WRITING!

ABC 123,

               Maddie

July Writing Craze: Day 29!!

Hey everyone!! Day 29, here we go!

Chapter Twelve:  Velvet

Expert’s Luck

            “Have you seen my white sweater?”  Yori asked, digging through her drawers, flinging a piece of clothing here and there.

            “No, I didn’t take that one.  Actually, I’ve never seen it.  Check under the bed,”  Velvet responded, lacing up her hardcore tennis shoes.

            “Katie thinks we’ve given in, Brody’s making the call to Martin, and everyone in the camp knows about mission HD,”  Yori said, crouching to the floor to hunt down her white sweater.

            “HD?”

            “Havoc Day!”  Yori said, pulling out her suitcase to check for her white sweater in there.

            “I hope Martin agrees to come,”  Velvet commented, straightening her white socks.

            “Me too, it would be really great if he could.  But…if he can’t, there’s always Plan B,”  Yori mentioned, stringing out her white sweater from her suitcase.

            “Which is?”

            “Let the press pick up the out of control mayhem and let it travel, grapevine style, to Martin.  If Martin hears about it through a mess of opposing and rivalry camp chains, he’ll be so madly embarrassed, he’ll have no insane reason not to fire Katie,”  Yori explained, shrugging into the attire.

            “That’s genius,”  Velvet said, impressed.

            “Thank you.  And look, I found my sweater.”

            “I see that.  Left it in your suitcase?  Why do you need it anyway?”

            “It’s my going away sweater.  Whenever I leave someplace I like, I wear it,”  Yori said.

            “You like Camp Sing-Song?”

            “You’re here, aren’t you?”

            “Wait, but if you wear it, don’t you think it’ll be bad luck?  I mean, then the world might think you’re actually going away and the plan will fall through,”  Velvet mused aloud, praying to the superstitious gods her jinxing thoughts wouldn’t pursue.

            “You’re getting anxious, Velvet.  Obviously, you’ve never been the trouble-maker anywhere before,”  Yori responded.

            “Never in my life.”

            “Welcome… you’ll have fun,”  Yori replied, smiling.  Velvet rolled her eyes and hope that Yori was right.

            “Have we been up here long enough to make Katie think we’re packed?”

            “I guess so…we should intercept her mail to Martin anyway,”  Yori said, looking around the room to see if she forgot anything.  Her long eyelashes swept across the room like an eagle’s graceful wings.

            “Lucky girl with the long eyelashes,”  Velvet said, crossing her arms across her chest in mock despise.

            “These brittle things?  Please!  At least you have thin eyebrows, mine could not get bushier,”  Yori complained, turning around to compliment Velvet.

            “Never thought about my eyebrows…I’m gonna run to the bathroom before we head out, okay?”

            “Sure,”  Yori said, kicking her suitcase back underneath her bed.  Velvet headed towards the green curtain, waggling her toes in her slightly tight shoes, looking down to see if her toes had enough room.  As he eyes reached her feet, Velvet noticed something out of the corner of her eye.  A half sheet of shredded-edged paper peered at Velvet in the corner of the room.  Velvet bent down, picked it up, and deciphered what it said. 

Yori,

                        I hope I got your camp address right.

Yori at Camp Singing, STOP READING.  Thanks.  Any,

 about everything going on at home.  But, either wa

 can’t have girl drama in my life, to be frank and st

            Later,

                        Steve

“Hey, sorry about your boyfriend,”  Velvet said, shaking the paper in her hand to explain to Yori.  Yori looked over at Velvet, at the paper, and then back to Velvet.

            “Forget about it.  Like you said, I don’t need scummy dirt like him in my life,”  Yori said, a twinkling in her wink.

            “I don’t think I said it exactly like that…”  Velvet said, tapping her chin and throwing the paper to the ground once more.  “Oh, Yori?”

            “Yeah?”

            “Was your mom really in Europe?” 

            “Europe? …Oh…no, she’s been at home.  I never called her actually, I was just making a spectacle, I guess.  I needed some space and I needed a reason.  I’m not here for my college apps either.”

            “No?”

            “Nope.  I’m here because my mom wanted me to get away for the summer since we hadn’t heard from my dad for a while.  Since we were getting worried, my mom made me go and do something to keep my mind off of it.”

            “I see…”

            “Plus, I’ve already gotten into UCSD,”  Yori bragged, smiling proudly.

            “No way!  I’m heading there myself!”  Velvet remarked.

            “Are you serious?  What are you majoring in?”

            “Elementary education, you?”

            “Fashion and Design,”  Yori replied.

            “Amazing!  What a freaky, but good, coincidence.  Hey, I’m gonna run to the bathroom and then we can meet up with the others and plan the next move,”  Velvet commented.

Heading down the pavement, Velvet couldn’t help but wonder if Yori would Matt a chance.  Matt had obviously been trying to get Yori’s attention for the past week, with no avail, and now that Yori was renewing herself, maybe Matt could be in Yori’s line of vision.  The only way to find out was to ask.

            “Yori, do you like Matt?”

            “Matt?!”  Yori exclaimed, looking up from her black flats to Velvet.

            “Why not?  He’s nice and smart and fun.  You should give him a chance,”  Velvet said, aiming to persuade Yori.

            “Hey, I never said no.”  Velvet let out an excited yelp.  That was a yes!  It had to be a yes!!  They would be the cutest couple, flirty and princess-y matched with clever and astute. 

            “You two would be sooo cute together!”  Velvet couldn’t help but blurt out, covering her mouth, trying to smother her exhilarated emotions.

            “Just don’t say anything, okay?  I don’t want him to think I’m the dumb, prissy girls,”  Yori pressed, looking firmly at Velvet, but a tint of a smile on her lips.

            “Of course not.  Of course not.  Of course…maybe I’ll just hint!”  Velvet said and bolted.  She sped down the pavement, attempting to see what was going on around her as she whizzed past people and games.  Velvet could hear Yori only footsteps behind her.  Where was Matt?  Where was Matt?!

            “Velvet!  Yori!”  Brody called out before Velvet could find Matt.  Velvet hurried to a stop and waved to Brody.  Yori screeched to a halt, close behind Velvet.

            “Did you get hold of Martin?”  Yori asked, her eyes eager.

            “Yes, I told him it was a counselor decision that we wanted him there.  And I reminded him that the press would be there, hoping to speak to a person in charge!  He said he’d be able to fly in at noon.  He’ll come right when the press will be arriving,”  Brody answered.

            “All right!!”  Yori cried out.

            “We’ll have to get the havoc rolling quick, then, because Katie will be making sure me and you, Yori, will be goners before then.  We’re gonna have to be on the run around noon,”  Velvet said worriedly.  It would be a close shave, if it didn’t turn into a shave at all.  Velvet looked at Yori and noticed a flicker of flinch in her expression.

            “You’re right…we won’t be able to organize the havoc then,”  Yori commented, disappointed.

            “Me and Matt will get it going then,”  Brody offered.

            “You might need to…I hope there’ll be time for me and you, Velvet, to create mayhem, too, though…”  Yori thought out loud, obviously concerned.  Yori must be really invested in her trouble making by the looks of it.

            “We’ll make time…if you excuse me, I need to talk to Matt!”  Velvet broke out and made a mad dash for it.  She heard a fake-frustrated outcry, but no footsteps.  After a few yards, Velvet stopped and turned around.  Back at the original spot, Yori and Brody were there, talking.  Brody was nodding his head while Yori talked and then Yori looked intent on listening while Brody spoke.  Lastly, Yori and Brody hugged and smiled a friendly smile at each other.  Velvet hurried back to the two, hoping the two didn’t mean a couple.

            “Don’t worry, Velvet.  We were just resolving things,”  Yori said when Velvet reached them.

            “Okay…”  Velvet replied, skeptically for a laugh.  Pointing at a piece of paper Brody held in his hand, Velvet asked, “What’s that?”

            “This?”  Brody asked, holding up a sealed envelope.  “Katie’s mail.  When she caught me in her office right when I hung up, I told her I was looking for something for Jane.  She believed me and I guess thought I was talking about this mail.  It’s addressed to…oh!  Martin King, how funny.”

            “Martin?”  Yori asked, snatching the envelope from Brody.  She started ripping it open and peeling the papers from inside.

            “Don’t open it,”  Velvet protested, concern edging at her shoulders where her emotions rested.

            “These are our suspension papers, Velvet.  Katie must have just filled them out already!  Brody, thanks a bunch for taking this.  I’m gonna go hide it in our room,”  Yori exclaimed and without another word, hurried to cabin 2A.

            “That was pretty lucky, I guess,”  Brody commented as him and Velvet walked to the dock where Velvet remembered Matt saying he would be.

            “You know what else is lucky?  Yori likes Matt,”  Velvet gossiped, excitement barely able to contain itself.  A brief moment of surprise passed before they both took off running to tell Matt.  To tell Matt his summer camp dream had come true.

All right! Thanks for reading today!

And remember guys:  Your comfort zone, when writing, doesn't always have to be maintained.  Step outside of it.  Meaning, try a genre you never thought you would do before, write in old English, do some research on the time you are writing in, develop a character that is a little deeper than would first seem.  Just give it a try, no pressure or deadline!

ABC 123,

                Maddie